The publication reports on a study of blockchain in the maritime sector with a focus on three value chains, namely container transport, fishing and processing of fish and shellfish, and plastic recycling. The publication describes different ways of using blockchain in the form of different types of companies, and with this as a starting point, the publication discusses the prerequisites for blockchain to be used in the analyzed value chains.
Monitoring methods, such as seabed bottom-towed cameras, sediment grabs, and benthic sledges, have limitations in spatial coverage, cause seabed disturbance, are restricted to soft-bottom substrates, and offer low flexibility for marine seabed monitoring. In this study, we investigate the potential of a non-invasive and simple underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to enhance marine seabed monitoring. A tethered ROV equipped with a GoPro camera was deployed in three areas of Skagerrak at depths from 15-34 m to assess accuracy in species identification and substrate classification identified from still frames. The quality of still frames varied between areas due to turbidity, motion blur, and marine snow, which reduced the number of high-quality frames by approximately 20%. Classification of substrates and taxa identification were possible in the remaining still frames. Two different substrates were detected: sand and stone reef. Stone reefs had a lower occurrence compared to sand. A total of 10 taxa were detected in the two substrate types. The highest abundance was observed in the stone reef substrate compared to the sand substrate. Identification at the species level was limited due to the quality of the still frames, which affected the detectability of morphological traits. This study demonstrates that a widely accessible ROV can be used for marine monitoring. The ROV can be used in different substrates, and still frames provide valuable information on species composition, which can enhance the replicability of monitoring programs.
With the blue economic sectors growing, marine macroalgae cultivation plays an important role in securing food and energy supplies, as well as better water quality in sustainable ways, whether alone or as part of a cluster solution to mitigate the effects of fish farming. While macroalgae cultivation exists in Europe, it is not that widely distributed yet; with increasing marine activities at sea, Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) needs to ensure social recognition as well as social and spatial representation for such a new marine activity. This comparative case study analysis of MSPs of three eastern Baltic Sea countries explores the levels of support for the development of macroalgae cultivation in MSP and the degree of co-location options for this new and increasingly important sector. It presents new analytical ways of incorporating co-location considerations into the concept of social sustainability. The results of this study support the harmonisation of views on co-location, propose ways of using space to benefit multiple users as well as marine ecosystems, and highlight some of the key social challenges and enablers for this sector.
Although the concept of ecosystem services has been in use for many decades, its application for policy support is limited, particularly with respect to marine ecosystems. Gaps in the assessments of ecosystem services supply prevent its empirical application. We advance these assessments by providing an assessment tool, which links marine ecosystem components, functions and services, and graphically represents the assessment process and its results. The tool consists of two parts: (i) a matrix following the ecosystem services cascade structure for quantifying the contribution of ecosystem components in the provision of ecosystem services; (ii) and a linkage diagram for visualizing the interactions between the elements. With the aid of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES), the tool was used to assess the relative contribution of a wide range of marine ecosystem components in the supply of ecosystem services in the Latvian marine waters. Results indicate that the tool can be used to assess the impacts of environmental degradation in terms of ecosystem service supply. These impacts could further be valued in socioeconomic terms, as changes in the socioeconomic values derived from the use of ecosystem services. The tool provides an opportunity for conducting a holistic assessment of the ecosystem service supply and communicating the results to marine spatial planning practitioners, and increasing their understanding and use of the ecosystem service concept.
The aim of this paper is to provide the foundations for the development of a spatial decision-support toolset that combines cumulative impacts and ecosystem service supply assessments to support what-if scenario analysis in a maritime spatial planning context. Specifically, a conceptual framework for a toolset has been designed in order to introduce a new approach for place-based assessments of change in relative ecosystem service supply in multiple services at a time due to changes in cumulative impacts. Central to the toolset are two pre-existing approaches for relative ecosystem service supply and cumulative impact assessments and tools that facilitate them. The tools take advantage of available data from various sources, including geodata and expert knowledge, and have already been proven to support maritime spatial planning in a real-world context. To test the new approach and demonstrate the outputs, an ecosystem service supply assessment was done manually using the two currently separate tools. The results of the test case ecosystem service supply assessment for the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea are also presented in this paper and illustrate the assessment steps and data needs. Although presently the focus of the illustrative assessment is the Gulf of Riga, the toolset will be able to accommodate analysis of cumulative impacts and service supply of any location, leaving the scope of the assessment to be determined by the objectives of the assessment as well as data availability (i.e., geospatial data availability and extent of expert knowledge).
The aim of this paper is to provide the foundations for the development of a spatial decision-support toolset that combines cumulative impacts and ecosystem service supply assessments to support what-if scenario analysis in a maritime spatial planning context. Specifically, a conceptual framework for a toolset has been designed in order to introduce a new approach for place-based assessments of change in relative ecosystem service supply in multiple services at a time due to changes in cumulative impacts. Central to the toolset are two pre-existing approaches for relative ecosystem service supply and cumulative impact assessments and tools that facilitate them. The tools take advantage of available data from various sources, including geodata and expert knowledge, and have already been proven to support maritime spatial planning in a real-world context. To test the new approach and demonstrate the outputs, an ecosystem service supply assessment was done manually using the two currently separate tools. The results of the test case ecosystem service supply assessment for the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea are also presented in this paper and illustrate the assessment steps and data needs. Although presently the focus of the illustrative assessment is the Gulf of Riga, the toolset will be able to accommodate analysis of cumulative impacts and service supply of any location, leaving the scope of the assessment to be determined by the objectives of the assessment as well as data availability (i.e., geospatial data availability and extent of expert knowledge).
Crude oil and cadmium (Cd) are common pollutants in Ghana's coastal ecosystems, where the cyanobacterial phytoplankton Synechococcus sp. serves as the primary producer and forms the base of the marine food web alongside small grazers. We hypothesized that cadmium and crude oil would disrupt microbial community structure and function, with the strongest effects under combined exposure. This study investigates the toxic effects of Oil (2 mL L−1), Cd (4.4 μg L−1), and their combined impact (Cd + Oil) on functional groups within the coastal microbial community, including Synechococcus sp., heterotrophic bacteria, nanoflagellates, eukaryotic phytoplankton, ciliates, and dinoflagellates, as well as on copepod nauplii and copepodite development during six-day incubations. We observed acute toxic effects on heterotrophic ciliates and dinoflagellates, with >50 % reductions in abundance within 6 h and a marked decrease in diversity. Phytoplankton showed growth within the first 24 h due to nutrient replenishment from the protist decay, however, their growth continued to decline after 24 h, with Synechococcus being particularly sensitive to Cd and less affected by Oil. In contrast, heterotrophic bacteria increased in abundance across all treatments, likely benefiting from organic matter released during phytoplankton decay and their high adaptability. Notably, the bacterial genera Marivivens and Rhodovulum became dominant mainly in the Oil-amended treatments. Overall, the microbial groups exhibited diverse responses to the pollutants, with the combined Cd + Oil treatment exerting the strongest negative effects, while crude oil alone had the least impact. These findings highlight the vulnerability of tropical microbial food webs, typically dominated by Synechococcus and microbial grazers, to combined pollutant stress, with potential cascading effects on higher trophic levels and coastal ecosystem productivity. This highlights the need for comprehensive monitoring and conservation efforts in these globally significant, yet understudied, regions.
This paper presents a wave flume investigation of beaching times for buoyant microplastic particles dropped at various distance from the shoreline. The beaching times are used to quantify the cross-shore Lagrangian transport velocities of the microplastic particles. Results show that prior to breaking, there is little dependence on particle characteristics (e.g. their rise velocity), and the particles travel onshore with a velocity close to the Lagrangian fluid particle velocity. In the surf zone the Lagrangian transport velocities of the microplastic particles increase significantly, becoming closer to the wave celerity. Additionally, particle characteristics become important, as particles with low Dean numbers (high rise velocity) have a greater tendency to be captured by surface rollers relative to particles with larger Dean numbers (lower rise velocity). An empirical relation is formulated for predicting the cross-shore Lagrangian transport velocities of buoyant microplastic particles. The expression matches the present experiments well and is valid for both non-breaking and breaking irregular waves. These findings help in understanding the accumulation of microplastics at beaches due to the surf-zone processes, especially for buoyant particles.
This paper presents experimental measurements of beaching times for buoyant microplastic particles released, both in the pre-breaking region and within the surf zone. The beaching times are used to quantify cross-shore Lagrangian transport velocities of the microplastics. Prior to breaking the particles travel onshore with a velocity close to the Lagrangian fluid particle velocity, regardless of particle characteristics. In the surf zone the Lagrangian velocities of the microplastics increase and become closer to the wave celerity. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that particles having low Dean numbers (dimensionless fall velocity) are transported at higher mean velocities, as they have a larger tendency to be at the free-surface relative to particles with higher Dean numbers. An empirical relation is formulated for predicting the cross-shore Lagrangian transport velocities of buoyant microplastic particles, valid for both non-breaking and breaking irregular waves. The expression matches the present experiments well, in addition to two prior studies.
Current modeling practices for social-ecological systems (SES) are often qualitative and use causal loop diagrams (CLDs), as these models promote an evaluation of the systems loops and variable connectivity. Our literature review demonstrated that quality assurance of these models often lacks a consistent validation procedure. Therefore, a guide to improving the validation of qualitative models is presented. The presumed utility protocol is a multi-dimensional protocol with 26 criteria, organized into four dimensions, designed to assess specific parts of the modeling process and provide recommendations for improvement. This protocol was applied to three demonstration cases, located in the Arctic Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Macaronesia, and the Tuscan archipelago. The “Specific Model Tests” dimension, which focuses on the structure of the model, revealed positive evaluations of its structure, boundaries, and capacity to be scaled up. "Guidelines and Processes", which focuses on the meaning and representativeness of the process, showed positive results regarding purpose, usefulness, presentation, and meaningfulness. "Policy Insights and Spillovers", a dimension focused on the policy recommendations, revealed a high number of "not apply", indicating that several criteria are too advanced for the status of the models tested. The "Administrative, Review, and Overview" dimension, which focused on the managerial overview, showed the models needed improvement in the documentation and replicability, while time and cost constraints were positively evaluated. The presumed utility protocol has shown to be a useful tool providing quantitative and qualitative evaluations for an intermediate evaluation of the model-building process, helping to substantiate confidence, with recommendations for improvements and applications elsewhere.